This is a class for artists who want to explore the dark feminine aspects of divinity. We’re so used to spirituality being about going up, going towards clarity, going towards the light. While all these things are important and true, the feminine aspect of the divine, that is inner, mysterious, unconscious and earth bound, has been denied. This is a class about embracing the inner world, the shadow, feelings, the void, Great Mystery, the night and the wild self.

This is for people who are wanting to more deeply explore the mythic, medicinal and essential role of artists of all kinds, from musicians, writers, directors, photographers, performers, painters, illustrators to just about any other kind of artist.

We will begin with a meditation and go on to workshopping and exploring the various aspects of the dark divine. This class is for really facing these inner aspects, not just a discussion but practical exercises and applications for the purpose of experiencing inner breakthroughs and healing.

We have evolved enough to understand our physical bodies, our emotional selves and our mental selves. Now the next stage of expansion asks that we get to know our Mythic Selves. Inspired from and elaborating on the work of Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Caroline Myss, Debbie Ford and others, on this night we will explore…

THE DARK SIDE
The dark of the womb, the dark of sleep, the night sky, the void, divine mystery and all the ways she expresses herself are woven into consciousness as much as the light is. In the shadow lies treasure, in the womb lies rebirth, in sacred grief there is liberation, through divine mystery we connect to all of life. When we touch the mysterious, the unknown, the void, we get a sense of our infinite nature. We expand beyond our ego and the prison of logic and control and we enter our full sensory capacity, expanded and connected to all of life.

So many beautiful spiritual cultures have been afraid of the shadow self, of emotion, the loss of control and the divine nature of darkness which is inherently introspective, natural, feeling based and mysterious. While going towards higher consciousness and the light is essentially important, the downward motion towards the earth and the inner self is equally important. This is the yin and yang of spirituality; the Himalayas and the Amazon, sky and earth. Collectively we see the imbalance when we see art, the mythic language, repressed and undervalued. When we see the Earth harmed. When emotions and sexuality are repressed and humanity lives in a state of blame, projecting our shadow issues at everyone else.

When we explore and connect to the dark divine, we find peace with ourselves. We find love, acceptance and deep compassion for ourselves and all of life. Our bodies are healed of repressed and unresolved energies. We break through blocks in our lives and heal relationships. We break old patterns. We feel deeply connected to our wild, free, authentic nature. We connect to our inner language and become more conscious vessels of creative power.

One of the most prominent forces of the dark divine is the unconscious. Human beings contain worlds within them. Yet only the tiniest parts of us are conscious at any given time. Both our individual unconscious and the collective unconscious exist in the territory of the dark divine. Within the unconscious self is a pantheon of archetypes that play out through us every single day. We dress for that archetype, we talk like that archetype we use that archetype to access our power and get things done, how we handle crisis and sometimes the archetype takes over and stops us from moving forward. We communicate through the archetypes and relate through the archetypes we see in others.

We use music, film, tv, books, photography, fashion, paintings, comics and poetry to give us the ideas that fuel our archetypes. For some, just seeing an archetype presented in a relatable way on tv is enough to make them understand themselves or a whole different person or group of people. Archetypes rule us, our decisions, our compassion, what we see as possible for ourselves and others. Archetypes are a silent guiding force in consciousness, telling us what is appropriate, how we should behave, what we can or should do with our lives and how we should think and feel. It rules group thought, politics and the behavior of a culture.

And art rules archetypes.

ARTISTS
Artists are the mythmakers of culture. Artists play the crucial role of going deep down into the unconscious to pull up the personal mythic language that will speak to the collective consciousness of humanity. Artists have the power to forge new archetypes, evolve old ones and communicate the unrealized needs of the collective.

MYTHIC CONSCIOUSNESS
Mythic consciousness is the ability to see life from a symbolic level. The ability to see through the surface of things and become aware of the greater patterns. It allows us to understand ourselves and life symbolically and mythically, bringing the conscious and unconscious mind together for healing. It allows us to communicate at the symbolic level so that everything we share becomes universal and relatable to everyone.

ABOUT CARISA BIANCA MELLADO
Carisa is a Reiki Master/ Teacher and has been working as an Holistic Counsellor/Therapist, Tarot Reader and Spiritual Healer for over 18 years. She has been teaching courses in Mythology, Shadow Work, Psychic and Intuitive Development, Spiritual Development, Tarot Reading, Reiki and Channeling, Intuitive Art, Creative Dance and more for over 17 years. She is the author of the “Ask An Angel” oracle Cards and the “Mythic Oracle” cards. Carisa is also a musician and has been performing and recording music for over 20 years.